All Soldered products are designed using the same electronic and mechanical principles to simplify their use as much as possible. When we talk about the mechanical specifications, some examples include the positions of mounting holes, connector positions, header distances, and so on.

Board Mechanics

Dimensions

Soldered breakout boards have specifically defined dimensions based on a simple formula: x=16 x n+6 [mm]. These dimensions are set to match the LEGO standard, allowing them to be used in LEGO projects. Standardized dimensions also ensure easy replacement of boards with different ones.

Mounting Holes

Each board has holes along the edges for easy mounting. Boards must have at least 2 mounting holes if they are smaller or 4 holes if they are larger than 22mm x 38mm. All holes are 3.2mm to accommodate M3 screws.

When there are only 2 holes (for boards sized 22mm x 22mm or 22mm x 38mm), they are placed along the longer side. The holes are 3mm from the edge and are spaced at multiples of 16 to facilitate swapping different types of breakout boards of the same size.

Header Positions and Interface Voltages

Headers are used for board connections and are spaced 2.54mm apart to fit breadboards and are 1.5mm from the board edge. Headers are grouped according to their functions.

Communication pins are adapted for 5V levels to easily connect to 5V microcontrollers. There are also jumpers to switch headers to 3.3V if the sensor operates at that voltage.

Connector Positions

Connectors for board connections are placed at the board edge for easy use. For boards with I2C communication, an easyC connector is used for simple connections. Each compatible board has 2 easyC connectors on opposite sides, usually in the middle, allowing easy chaining of boards.

Board Markings

Each board’s front side has the board name indicating its purpose, along with LED markings, jumpers, and labels for each pin. The back side includes the logo and OSH, CE, and UKCA symbols, as well as the version marking on the board edge.